The longtime assistant coach moves one seat over, taking over as head coach of the Chippewas after today's retirement of Sue Guevara. CMU wasted no time selecting a successor, going with the person who has been a mentor, leader and guide behind the scenes.

"I spent countless hours in her office talking about school, basketball and life," said Reyna Frost, the recently graduated MAC Player of the Year. "I struggled when I was an underclassman and she took me under her wing and knew how to develop me. I can't think of anyone better to continue the success of women's basketball at Central."

Oesterle, who played at the University of Michigan under Guevara, joined the CMU staff for the 2010-11 campaign. She spent the past seven seasons as the associate head coach.

During that time, she helped the Chippewas soar to their greatest heights. She was at Guevara's side for four consecutive MAC West championships, three regular season MAC titles and two MAC Tournament crowns.

CMU reached the NCAA Tournament the past two years, reaching the Sweet 16 with upsets of No. 24 LSU and No. 10 Ohio State in 2018.

With permission CMU

Heather Oesterle helped the CMU women's basketball team to four straight MAC West titles and back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids.

"Having the opportunity to see Heather in action the past couple of years, once Sue let me know her plans, it was clear to me that Heather was the right person for this job," said Michael Alford, CMU director of athletics, in a press release. "She has helped build this program and understands the responsibility of this position.

"During our discussions the past few days, she presented a thorough plan on how she will lead us through this transition and continue to push this program forward. Replacing a legend is never easy, but I feel Heather is definitely up to the task."

Moving one seat over, Oesterle takes on a mighty challenge. Guevara is the program's all-time winningest coach with a 231-156 record over 12 seasons. The Saginaw native vaulted CMU into the upper echelon of college basketball and to powerhouse status in the Mid-American Conference.

Now that falls upon new shoulders as Oesterle take the helm as the 12th head coach in program history.

"This is a great honor and I couldn't be more excited to lead this program," Oesterle said. "One of the most important things I learned from Coach Guevara is that it takes everyone working together to reach the high goals we have, and I am confident that everyone associated with this program will continue to do that."

A product of Mason, Michigan, she graduated Mason High School as its all-time leading scorer with 1,451 points. She went on to deliver a four-year career at the University of Michigan, serving as captain her senior year.

After one year as a volunteer assistant at Stanford University, Oesterle served as assistant coach at Northern Illinois for two years and at Miami, Ohio, for six seasons.

With the Chippewas, she helped turn Frost, Tinara Moore and Crystal Bradford into MAC Players of the Year, working alongside Guevara while crafting a potent program.

“(Guevara) has been a tremendous mentor and has prepared me for this amazing opportunity,” Oesterle said.